CHICAGO: ExactTarget, an email and interactive marketing software provider that recently went public, has hired Finn Partners as its global AOR.

The agency will handle PR programs in the US, Europe, Australia, and Latin America. Finn Partners' Chicago office will manage the account, with support from its New York team.

Dan Pooley, senior partner and head of the firm's Chicago office, and managing partner Alicia Young will lead the account. A five-employee core team will work on the ExactTarget business, with additional staffers assisting when necessary, Pooley said.

The scope of work includes media relations, thought leadership, social media, event support, and PR strategy, with the goal of building brand awareness for the company among marketers in the US and abroad. Helping the target audience understand the company's product offerings is a key part of the communications strategy.

“It's making sure people understand they have the full suite of services across those platforms,” Pooley said. “[ExactTarget] grew up as an email marketing services firm, but today it has powerful solutions in social and mobile, and it brings all those together.”

ExactTarget declined to disclose the specific terms of the contract.

Mitch Frazier, senior director of marketing strategy and communications at ExactTarget, said the company previously worked with Dittoe Public Relations for more than three years in the US, as well as small firms in London, Australia, and Brazil after expanding to those regions in 2009, 2010, and 2011, respectively. The company began a review to find a firm with global capabilities that had worked with companies that recently went public. ExactTarget had its IPO in March.

“As we began to step back and review our operations on the communications side, it became clear to me that it was time to reevaluate our global approach to PR,” Frazier said. He added that ExactTarget also picked Finn Partners because of its culture.

“It became very clear to me that they shared the same passion for clients and the same passion for really communicating with the end result in mind,” Frazier said. Cloud-based data backup company Carbonite also hired Finn Partners earlier this year.